On the road again - part IV

Publié par Miguel RIVIERE sur 16 Mai 2014, 04:09am

Monday, April 21st

The night was as cold as usual, and we woke up in the middle of the morning mist. We had spent the night in a campground in Akaroa, and had some comfort with the hot showers and the kitchen. After a quick breakfast, we left for the mountains that surround the town. We stopped on the crest of the mountains and admire the landscapes. We went for a walk in the heights and through the forest : there was mist everywhere and moist in the air. The wind was blowing and rocks were scattered all around the place. The ocean was barely visible in the distance, and all of it reminded me of Britanny, the western part of France (that has all the same except for the mountains, just big hills). The walk was pleasant and quite hard, and after it we left for some rest and a well deserved lunch at Le Bons bay.

We finished the day in Pigeon bay, were we walked among cows and sheep along the shore, and we finally took a 30+km long gravel road through the steepest slopes of the mountains to go back to the mainland area through a different road. However, once halfway and with no chance of turning back, we realized we didn't have any petrol left in the tank and that we would run out of it quite soon. We looked for the nearest service station on internet (thanks, oh God who invented smartphones) and headed for Lyttelton, Christchurch harbour. In the end, we made around 40km with arrow pointing UNDER "empty", which was quite a surprise, and we arrived safely in Christchurch. We spent our last night in a small countryside camping near the ocean.

Tuesday, April 22nd

Today was the last day of our trip, and we departed early for CHCH. There, we met some of Manon's friends and spent some time in the rainy capital of the South Island. In the beginning of the afternoon, we left for the airport where we all took the same plane to Wellington. Once there, Manon and I left for Hamilton and Jonathan for Taupo. We took off at dusk, just after sunset, and we could see Wellington's CBD and all its lights. It was beautiful, and it made me eager to discover that city (which I actually did two weeks ago XD)

But that, is another story ;)

Thanks for reading all my southisland adventures, it was quite long to write and I hope you enjoyed it ! I think I won't have the opportunity to go back to the South Island for now, so I'll have to come back, one day :-) However I keep a wonderful memory of it, and I can honestly say I saw some of the most amazing things of my life there ! It's really worth going. It may not be as "wild" as people say, but for sure, it's quite empty and majestic. An unforgettable journey :)